Pat Quinn has appointed a new leader for the Illinois Department of Transportation. Quinn on Monday named Ann Schneider to be secretary of the state transportation department. Schneider has been acting secretary since July.
Related:
- Quinn names new leaders for IDOT, Aging, other agencies [Crains]
- Governor Quinn Makes Executive Appointments [IGNN (press release)]
By a 48-0 vote, the City Council approved the appointment of former transportation chief Tom Powers as commissioner of the Water Department.
Powers, who received a lengthy series of plaudits from aldermen, had been acting commissioner of the Transportation Department.
The Sun-Times has some more background on the appointment here. Read more...
The state of Illinois has not paid the Regional Transportation Authority since July and now owes the transit agency $250 million, the RTA said today.
The recession has forced state government to pick and choose where to send its limited funding, and the Chicago region's transportation agencies have gotten the short end of the stick.
To bridge the gap, the RTA has the authority to issue $260 million in "working cash" — essentially IOU notes. While the RTA still has a few other sources of funding to get by on, the state’s non-payment could become a big problem if it lasts much longer. Read more...
